2»2 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



November, 1913 



perimental work one is perhaps apt 

 to lose sight of some of the details. 

 For instance, did the Kybybolite and 

 Murray Bridge stations share in the 

 achievement and participate in the 

 triumph, perhaps the)' didn't. If so it 

 would almost be enough -to account 

 for their closing down. To have wait- 

 ed so long for an opportunity of dis- 

 tinguishing themselves, and then be 

 barred at the last moment would in- 

 deed have been hard. To speak lightly 

 of such an experiment after it is ac- 

 complished is, of course, easj', ljut one 

 is perhaps apt to forget the brain 

 wave which originated the conception 

 and further remember the naturally 

 anxious consideration as to whether 

 the staff was qualified to deal with so 

 intricate a project, or whether it 

 would be safer to ask the Government 

 for an extra sum for supplementary 

 assistance. As far as we can judge, 

 it was successfully carried through 

 with the customary staff, and means 

 already within the control of the de- 

 partment, the're do not appear to 

 have been any contingencies to grap- 

 ple with. 



Again, there would arise the im- 

 portant question, whether the stock 

 available was sufficient to meet all 

 demands, or whether it would be ne- 

 cessary to import any from New Zea- 

 land, for it is quite probable that there 

 were never more than a poor 2,000 

 birds to select from. True, that left 

 a margin, but was it sufficient? An 

 anxious moment, to be sure. Need, 

 then, for a stout heart and mind well 

 fitted to grapple with emergencies. 

 But the minister was at the helm. 

 Happy State; fortunate industry. 

 There are other points worthy of the 

 same enthusiasm, but why elaborate? 

 \'irtue brings its own reward, and in 

 any case "All's vvell that ends well." 



What was the experiment? Great 

 Scott, we nearly dropped the -cutting. 

 Here it is in its sweet simplicity and 

 its noble design: — 



"The weight of eggs produced by 

 three White Leghorns and three 

 Black Orpingtons during a year are 

 recorded, and the results tend to show 

 that the limits of variation in, the 

 weight of different eggs laid Ijy the 

 same hen are considerable, in nearly 

 every instance after a rest of a day or 

 two, the succeeding egg showed an 

 increase of weight." 



Talk of the value of time atid the 

 usefulness of labor! What a splendid 

 example to the young of what they 

 may live to accomplish, say the junior 

 division of that very admirable insti- 

 tution, "The Mail's" Boys' Poultry 



Club; what an inspiration to them to 

 labor and to wait (rather a long time) 

 in the cause of poultry culture. Per- 

 haps we may be permitted to humbly 

 tender our congratulations to the 

 Minister of Agriculture, the Director, 

 and even to the least of the members 

 of the departmental staff. When they 

 are quite old men they' may possibly 

 be glad to remember with pride that 

 each in their degree contributed to 

 making the world richer in its store of 

 poultry knowledge. We trust that it 

 will not lead to unworthy jealousy or 

 unprincipled emulation of what has 

 been so gracefully and so unostenta- 

 tiously done. We feel quite sure that 

 wiser councils will prevail, and thai 

 we shall never read that some far 

 future Director of Agriculture "plant- 

 ed three Carmen and three Pinkeye 

 potatoes. He noticed that there was 

 considerable variation in the size of 

 tubers, that it gradually tended to in- 

 c" ease, and that after rain tViis in- 

 crease was specially noticeable," or 

 that tlie then Principal of Rosewor- 

 thy College "sowed three students in 

 deep sand." He noticed differences 

 in conduct, but generally speaking 

 temperatures tended to increase and 

 facial expression to become contort- 

 ed. When water was forcibly applied 

 these symptoms become complicated 

 and manifestly irate." Truly South 

 Australians are a patient people, but 

 they might in far distant days smile 

 at so unusual a notion of practical ag- 

 ricultural experimental work, they 

 might even go to their last extremity 

 and "ask an interesting question in 

 Parliament." In these days they will 

 probably say as we do, "Well and 

 bravely done, thou good and faithful 

 servant," for it is surely better to do 

 something, even if its practically help- 

 ful outcome is not apparent to the un- 

 trained eye, than not to do it. 

 We hope there will be many, more 

 experiments; we also hope we shall 

 not be considered offensive in sug- 

 gesting that they l)e on somewhat dif- 

 ferent lines. 



4 



Have you ever seen a picture of a 

 poultry louse? My stars, what aw- 

 ful looking things they are! No 

 wonder the chicks keel over and die 

 when they have to endure such terr- 

 ible enemies as these. Let's fight for 

 our birds against these fearful things! 

 Keep right at it till the last one is 

 gone. Then the birds will grow and 

 that . means something for you and 



me. 



Vitality. 



.\s far as a hen is concerned, eggs 

 are merely nature's call for reproduc- 

 tion and perpetuation of her kind, and 

 there is a more or less well-founded 

 belief that nature where she feels a 

 lessening of the vital forces, whe- 

 ther in a tree or animal, makes a spe- 

 cial effort to reproduce her kind, so 

 that one, perhaps, might reasonably 

 expect an extra flush of eggs in a hen 

 which felt some premonition of this 

 slackening of her vigor, just as a dy- 

 ing tree may put out very abundant 

 blossom. In this case, the tree is 

 nsuallv obviously a very sick tree. 

 With regard to the devitalized hen 

 she would appear to be a subject to 

 keep out of the breeding pen, but it 

 is doubtful whether the health of the 

 parent has any great effect on the 

 offspring, seems a radical sort of sug- 

 gestion. 



— A Lot to Learn, — 



We have a lot to learn yet of the 

 relation of the hen to the eggs she 

 lays, or rather the embyro it contains. 

 On the face of it, one would suppose 

 that it is very close and intimate, but 

 the further one .gets in the records of 

 experimental work the more one finds 

 that the embyro is a good deal more 

 than a reproduction of the mother 

 plus the father. It is a very gener- 

 ally, in fact universally accepted be- 

 lief that health, vigor, and stamina is 

 the foundation of a profitable flock. 

 Nothing seems more reasonable, but 

 that sound health in its fullest sense 

 is essential in parents and offspring. 

 We have been told always to breed 

 from birds which are and always have 

 been healthy, to cull chicks that had 

 crooked toes, because they couldn't 

 scratch; that were pasted up, be- 

 cause the bowels were weak; that had 

 worms, because their little tummies 

 were out of order; that had catarrah, 

 because they would have bellows to 

 mend; that didn't rush their tucker, 

 because their digestive organs were 

 faulty; and finally, to cull those that 



WANTED TO SELL. 



INCUBATOES AND BROODERS, 

 Simplex, awarded first price (silver 

 medal) Adelaide Exhibition, 1910. 

 Agent for Cert's Patent Cooler-safe, 

 a bo an in summer. Send for price 

 list.— D. LANYON, Manufacturer, 46 

 Nortb Terrace, Kent Town. 6-12, 



